The earliest record of a Morse occurs on January 17^th, 1578/79 when Agnes Morse, the wife of Robert Morse, died at the age of eighty. Robert himself died between September 15^th, 1552 and October 5^th, 1555, and he and his wife were both buried at Stoke-by-Nayland in Suffolk.

The couple left two sons, both name Thomas. The first one, referred to as the “eldest son” in the father’s will, grew up to be a laborer and married a woman again named Agnes. The other Thomas became known as Reverend Thomas Morse, a clerk who married Margaret King in 1573 at Boxted, Sussex. He was presented to the Bishop of London in the same year and accepted a job there, staying until the late 1570s, when he moved away and became rector of Hindenclay in Northern Suffolk. Then, from 1594 to his death in 1596, he served as rector of Foxeanter, Essex.

Reverend Thomas Morse’s descendant, Samuel Morse, was born in 1585 and journeyed to Watertown in 1649. His subsequent move to Dedham made him interested in spearheading a project to establish a new town near Dedham, which would be later known as Medfield. His marriage to Elizabeth Jasper bestowed upon him several children, one of which was Joseph Morse, born in 1615. Joseph married Hannah Philips in 1638. Being one of the original proprietors of Medfield, he took an active part in its organization and administration.

Among their children were Dorcas Morse and Samuel Morse. Dorcas was born on August 24^th, 1645. Growing up, her older brother Samuel would have been quite intimidating to little Dorcas. When their father died in 1654, Samuel took up the responsibilities of caring and providing for his widowed mother and six siblings at age fifteen. One may initially imagine that life was very difficult for the Morse family under such circumstances, but the reality was quite the contrary. Having inherited both his grandfather’s and father’s property, Samuel fared well, which was not in the least due to his resoluteness, ambition, thriftiness, and blood relation to most of the colonial elite. As a matter of fact, he quickly became the aristocrat of Medfield. He was one of the largest landowners, built the first mill, and was noted for his ability and trustworthiness. He served for six years as a selectman and one term as Representative in the General Court. He was commissioned on November 27^th, 1693 as Lieutenant to Governor Sir William Phipps and recommissioned on October 3^rd, 1699 to the Earl of Bellomont.

       

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